Taking Pictures of Coins

I actually find that my iPhone 7 took better close up pictures of coins than my iPhone 10. It seems the 10 loses focus upon zooming in.

There is nothing wrong with the quality of your photo.

 

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I think the byte size of a very good photo can be 100k or less. iPhone photos can have 50 times that, and the image size is far too large. So, there is no need to "zoom in." You can take photos from far away (12"?) so that the whole coin is in focus and then when you crop it and put obverse and reverse together and compress the image it will still be larger than most web-site photos. I don't have an iPhone 10 but I borrowed an 8 today and took photos from close (4") and the basic image of each side, cropped, was a megabyte and 2000 pixels wide. Far too large. Of course, I can change the pixel size and compress them, but the point I am making is that had I taken the photo from further away it would not lose focus from zooming in (and, I don't think it did) and still be large enough.

 

Thank you - I loaded the wrong photo I wanted to show - I have changed it now. I am pretty much bedridden at present and so I cannot move around to take photos. I am slowly learning to use photo shop In order to be able to stitch obverse and reverse photos together and fill in black backgrounds. By the time I am up and about I think I will be able to do those tasks OK.

 

Feel better soon!

 

thanks I will give that a try.

 

I hope you are in the mend.

 

I like your attitude, @Egry - in my opinion you are a good man - I am adding you to my list.

 

Dear Jamesicus. I wish you a speedy and complete recovery!!! And I'm sure I speak for all CTers.

 

I realize most of the members here are not photographers and likely have no interest in becoming one, but if you one of the people that is interested and wants to raise your game, to aim for pro quality coin images, here's a short summary of the tips and techniques for raw coin photography, from a professional coin photographer, that will take your images to the next level. Take from it what you want.

This Ancient Roman Sestertius Commodus is well worn with a range of colour and texture. Zoom in to to see the detail.


To take this image I used the axial lighting / studio strobe set up shown below.




This set up offers many advantages. You can easily shoot at f14, which for my lens is a nice depth of field spot, and the lowest native ISO, which for Nikon is 200, and use the maximum sync shutter speed your camera allows. My camera is 1/200 shutter speed. This lets you to ignore all the ambient light in the room and direct only the studio light for maximum quality depth of field and many other light control benefits. High shutter speeds mean sharper images.

I should note that to make this effective, your studio strobe should have at least a 300w modeling light. Dimmer lights will not give you the brightness level to see, and take full advantage of the subtle light control this system provides so well. Also, the diffuser on the left is movable. Positioned at the light face, it provides high contrast light, and as it is moved to toward the coin, softens the light. This is more important than you may think, as I adjust it for almost every coin.

In the shot below, the diffuser was close to the coin, adding more fill to the shadows.



A 105-macro lens allows you to be farther away from the coin but still pull a 1:1 image. Farther away is also better because you can get more light to the face of the coin- a 60mm means you're closer to it, leaving less room for light control when focusing at your minimum focus distance. My 105 lens has a min. focus distance of 12".

I suggest using a full frame camera, but that's a much bigger investment. It's not required, but it depends on what you want to do with the final images.

**Very important** Make sure the camera’s film plane and the coin face are parallel! Use a camera bubble level. Lay it on the back of the camera to make sure the film plane is level. Of course, you need to make sure the coin is level too.




Depth of field is just a few millimeters, so don’t waste any of it. Don’t focus at the closest point of the coin; you’re wasting focus. As a general rule, focus about 1/3 of the way into the area you want in sharp focus. With thicker coins beyond the single image depth of field range, use focus stacking and combine the images. I use focus stacking often enough to include it here.

Keep the coin off the background. Place the coin on a pedestal. I use a clear plastic cap from one of my wife's pump hairspray bottles.

Use a rock-solid copy stand- much easier to work with than a tripod and doesn’t get in the way.

Use a camera remote trigger or cable release. Even with a fast shutter speed, you don't want camera motion during capture.



SHOOT IN RAW - is in all caps because I can’t stress enough how important that is for quality and editing the image. For me, image editing in ACR & Photoshop should take only 3 to 10 minutes a coin, depending on several factors. I edit hundreds of coin images every week and I have created a set of Photoshop Actions to keep my workflow focused, minimal and consistent.

Make sure the White Balance is set to your light source. If you don’t know the color temperature of your light source, all the more reason to shoot in raw- you can adjust it there. I'm not that worried about the white balance because I use a studio strobe that is already daylight balanced, so I set mine to "Flash". Even with that, I shoot in raw, so I can change the white balance on any image, at any time, by need or desire. If yo9u are using other kinds of light the colour differences will be considerable.

To mitigate that problem, use color correction tools and software during capture and editing- I like the x-rite color checker passport. Second, I use a colour management software, X-rite Color Checker Passport, to create a colour profile for my axial lighting setup that I apply to all the images taken with it. This keeps all the colours accurate and consistent.

This is a shot of the x-rite Colorchecker passport I use for colour management.



You include it in the photograph of your lighting scenario and create a .dng file from the image with the software. The software knows what the colours on the board should look like, and adjusts the image colours to match them based on your lighting set up. Once the profile is made, apply it to the image, and any other images taken in the same lighting conditions. Since my axial lighting set up is the same every time, I only have to do this once. It's easy and effective. There are a lot of videos on YouTube about it.

Because I'm using a colour correct studio flash, my colours are pretty accurate right out of the gate, however, if you're not using studio lights, which I believe many of you aren't, the difference will be more pronounced.



Tether your camera to your computer if you can- shoot through Lightroom at minimum, so you can preview your images as soon as they are shot. I use “Control my Nikon” so I can use live view for precise focusing, when necessary, and a host of other valuable features. This method offers a lot of opportunity to capture exactly what your coin looks like in camera, so less processing is required. Not all cameras support tethered shooting so check your camera's manual or company website.

This is not an in-depth guide, but an overview, so if you have any questions, please let me know. I'd be happy to help.



For a lot more coin image examples, check out my Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/hipshotphotography/?hl=en or my web page at www.hipshotphotography.com

 

@Denis Richard
The date on the Dioscuri photo should probably be 211 BC?

 

You are correct. Thank you for pointing that out. I insert formatted text blocks and that was a detail I obviously missed when revising the date and title for that image.

This is the text I had accompanying the image when it was published:

Anonymous AR Denarius, Rome Mint, struck ca. 211 BC

Roman Republic Second Punic War (218 – 201 BC)

Wt.: 4.2 g Dia.: 20 mm

Obv.: Helmeted head of Roma right. X in left field

Rev.: Dioscuri galloping right. ROMA in exergue and partially incuse on raised tablet

Dioscuri, also called (in French) Castor and Polydeuces and (in Latin) Castor and Pollux, (Dioscuri from Greek Dioskouroi, “Sons of Zeus”), in Greek and Roman mythology, twin deities who succored shipwrecked sailors and received sacrifices for favorable winds.

 

Thank you @Denis Richard for this very detailed guide. I use axial photography but am constantly tweaking my setup: this post gave me some additional insights.

 

I am not a fan of axial photography because I find it less 'natural' looking than light with a bit of direction. Most of my images have a mix of directional light from a north facing window and fill from a ringlight. I use a 100mm macro on my full frame camera but wish I had paid the extra for the 180mm macro which would give more working space. Valentinian is right that good camera photos are too big, that is assuming all you want to do with them is sell coins or share on Coin Talk. Bigger is better if you are making poster size prints.

I shoot RAW and use Canon cameras which come FREE with RAW conversion software. The latest version of Canon RAW files, .CR3, are not supported by some older software packages but the free Canon software does a great job. I have just started playing with the Canon built in Focus Bracketing software (included in the FREE Digital Photography Professional package) which is easier to use than doing it manually using CombineZ freeware. I am not yet skilled enough with it to appreciate all the settings available but have been happy with the defaults so far. I insist on having the camera mounted solidly and firmly believe that my home made wooden camera stand is better than any commercial tripod. I do not use flash because I like to see what I will get more exactly than modelling lights approximate. High shutter speeds are not necessary if the camera is mounted securely and you are using a mirrorless camera (mine is a Canon RP but there are many others including some 'better').

The differences in all these points will mean nothing to those who only use photos to sell coins. It is true that high resolution images will show details you will not see with the naked eye. If you are selling coins, you may prefer that buyers do not know about the scratches you can not see at arm's length. Most of my coins are junkers compared to what is currently fashionable. They have plenty of 'beauty marks'. If is stupid to use a $1000 camera to shoot a $100 coin? I do have a lot of trouble with dust spots on the coins that show along with the natural imperfections. (Click to enlarge)


Finally, Never shoot coins handheld even if it is not the coin that is being held. This shot was taken with the camera on a tripod and the coin in hand. Bad idea!

 

Wow, your pictures are some of the best I've seen of coins. Every time I open one of these threads I feel the urge to take new pictures with the 1,000th tip I picked up.

 

That Thasos is spectacular, Doug!!
Can't get any better than that!!!

 

Static axial lighting is limited and I understand why people tend to dislike it. I also prefer light with direction to give me both highlights and shadows on the coin face. Static Axial lighting, when used with a tube around the coin to block the side light, does create an unappealing, one directional flat light, but I don't use static axial lighting. My axial lighting setup, I call dynamic axial lighting, is as hybrid using the side and top light for the best of both. (there's a picture of it in the post above) I want shadows and highlight, and the ability to control their contrast, to bring out the depth of the text and texture of the coin. I didn't buy my axial lighting set up, I made it.


I use a combination of the downward light from the glass panel and the side light (diffused) from the light source to illuminate the coin face. I go even further than that. By rotating the glass panel on the axis of the coin, and tilting it, I can angle the top light left or right, up or down, to suit the coin.

I also position the coin to the light source to give me highlights where I want them on the coin. As you can see in the set up picture in the above post, I have my light on the left hand side of the set up, so for the image below, face pointing right, to have the highlights along the nose ridge, the coin was upside down, pointed left, and I saw it upside down in my viewfinder when I took the shot.



I cut out and rotated the image in post.

You're right, they're not, but they make coin photography soooo much easier, especially if you do a lot of it. For starters, I'm not a fan of mixing my light sources, window light and ring lights, since they are almost never they same colour at the same time, so I use flash. Correct colour temperature light is also an important part of colour management. When you're using long shutter speeds, you're letting more ambient light into the camera, and then you need to be concerned with all the light in the room. Everything from your overhead lights to the glow from the monitor the will affect the image. You need to work in the dark, from only the light of the light source. Sure, you can work this way. When I shoot f14 at 1/200 (with a flash and 300W modeling light) I can have every light in the room on, so I can see exactly what I'm doing as I work, and if I take a shot without the flash firing, the image will be black. The room lights, my working environment lights, have no affect on the image at all. To be fair, I keep the overhead lights off because the glare on the top side of the glass panel makes looking through it difficult when I'm focusing and adjusting the glass's and diffuser, but all my other lights stay on. Flashes allow precise control of the amount of light you place on the coin and fully adjustable in 1/10 stop increments. The modelling light allows me to see exactly where and how the light is falling on the coin.

Some would say it certainly is stupid. Personally, I think the added quality in both product and workflow is worth the investment, but I am absolutely biased on the issue.


...and I never shoot on a black background. I understand the desire to shoot the coin and background at the same time, but it simply isn't possible to get the get the proper exposure for both in one image without independently lighting both subjects. Otherwise, one will always suffer to achieve the other. Make the coin the priority and expose it correctly and cut it out. The biggest advantage to having the coin image on a separate layer from the background is in editing the coin image itself. Color, saturation, hue, brightness or other adjustments don't affect the purity of the background color or image. Shadow / reflection adjustments don't rely on the actual lighting used, but are added as desired.


I understand many people aren't handy with photo editing software. It does have a big learning curve, but the unfortunate fact is, it is essential to quality coin images. Every image, no matter how perfect in camera, still needs some editing. I generally adjust curves (set on luminosity blend mode), hue / saturation, and vibrance. For exceptionally matte, worn or monochromatic coins, like below, I will use slight dodge and burn techniques to bring out the subtle relief on the coin face.






Axial lighting is not for everyone. If you're interested in it, I hope this was helpful.

 

@Denis Richard - where did you get that glass panel? is it a 2 way mirror? I need to start taking better photos and need a better setup. Love this post--thank you.

 

Glad to hear you like the post. The glass panel is regular glass, taken from an 8 x 10 picture frame. This was my first set up. Very simple and worked well. The glass is Velcroed to the wooden blocks.



Post your results. I'd love to see them.

 

I use a fairly old Canon SLR with a 60mm Macro lens. My depth of field sweet-spot seems to be at F8. I use a single, directional daylight bulb as a light source in a semi darkened room for consistency. I use a light cube to provide diffusion. My images are taken at over a second and so I use a timer. Within the light cube I have a crude stand within which is a black velvet sheet through which I have a rod to raise the coin about 1" from the velvet. My photos are taken RAW and like @dougsmit I use Digital Photography Professional to perform the initial processing before converting the files to .jpg for further processing in GIMP.

I scale my images down to 33% of the original size and combine them into a single image.

I keep all my RAW files and obverse and reverse .jpg images cropped in at 100% size just in case I want to look at finer details.

It has taken me years to adjust my setup to somewhere near what I consider acceptable images of my coins.

This is one that I took earlier this month. I noticed that my velvet has become dusty (fluff) which accounted for blemishes in the black background (5 o'clock in backround off-coin on obverse).


I have since changed to fresh velvet and get a cleaner image.

 

I continue to maintain that the easiest way to get a clean even black background is to prevent light from falling on the black (velvet, paper, paint - whatever) background. This makes small, out of focus pieces of dirt disappear into 'nothingness'. Over the years I have used various methods of shadowing this background from rolled up black paper, through black painted tin cans with the bottoms removed to my current favorite inverted black plastic flower pot (the type they sell plants in at the nursery). I add to the top a variety of things that restrict the size of the hole allowing even less light down and/or bouncing a bit of light on the edges of the coin improving separation between those edges and the background.


The important thing is that black is not something but actually the lack of something - light. If there is no light, even a white background is black. Straight down light from a true axial set-up will defeat this concept but a slight angle or ringlight with hole in the middle rather than solid disk of light works. How we each accomplish this makes no difference. My unit is a ridiculous stack of two flower pots because I wanted to avoid cutting the steel rod I had to make it fit the tallest pot I had. I prefer black backgrounds partly for the reduction in flare which reduces micro sharpness and contrast. I am not a fan of colored backgrounds but, if you must, you can cut out the image and drop it on the background of your choice.